1. Field of the Invention
A portable easel designed for painting with watercolors “on location” where the need for a portable, lightweight easel has distinct advantages over other watercolor easels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The activity of painting outside on location (“en plein air” [to paint from life]) has become increasingly popular. Although there are portable easels specifically available for other mediums, such as oil paints, acrylic paints and pastels, there is nothing that meets all the specifications of our invention for painting watercolors. One of the requirements unique to watercolor painting is a source of fresh water for mixing paints and cleaning brushes. It is also often necessary to tilt the watercolor forward, backward or from side to side to accomplish a technique called a “wash.”
Another requirement of watercolor painting on location is a stable work surface. Other types of available easels, while being relatively stable, are heavy to transport and complex to set up.
The Collapsible Flow Control Easel in U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,346 to Bahm, 1987 Oct. 13, does not have a bottom ledge for stabilizing the work (watercolor block or board). Furthermore, this easel does not have a retractable watercolor brush holder, or a retractable hook for a water container.
The Artist's Painting Kit and Tripod Adapter in U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,653 to Thomas, 1971 May 25, has a hook for a water container that is located on the side of the paint box, which can affect the easel's balance. The hook is not retractable for both compactness and portability. Moreover, the easel has no retractable brush holder or a retaining ledge to support the work. It is also comprised of many parts and needs many adjustments to use, limiting its portability and ease of use.
The Work Holder in U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,606 to Millen, 1973 Jun. 12, when adjusted to the horizontal position required in painting watercolors, would throw the Work Holder off balance and therefore, would become unstable. Moreover, it has no retractable hook for a water container or a retractable brush holder.
The brush holder in the Portable Easel Assembly in U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,987 to Jones, 2004 Aug. 10, pivots on a centerpoint and has no positive stop and therefore can be moved or damaged at any time. Moreover, the holes in the brush holder are not positioned in an increasing or decreasing size order, making brush selection more difficult. This easel has no retractable hook to provide water container placement. Furthermore, if during the process of painting a watercolor wash the need to tilt the easel to the left or right is required, it can't be done with this easel, which only tilts forward and backward. In addition, the retractable legs are difficult to set up and fold back.
The Palette and Easel Assembly in U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,651 to Maier, Aug. 12, 1997, is designed for attachment to a photographic tripod; however, it has no watercolor brush holders or hook for a water container. The palette extends from the work surface towards the artist, hindering the artist's arm movement when painting on the lower portion of the work surface. Furthermore, it is also comprised of many parts and needs many adjustments to change the work angle, limiting its ease of use.
The Artist's Lap Easel in U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,471 to Hutton, Mar. 9, 1982 does not provide for mounting on a photographic tripod, and has no hook for a water container. Furthermore, although it provides storage for pencils and brushes, there is no provision for having wet brushes at the ready.
Accordingly there is a need for an improved watercolor easel that is lightweight, portable, holds the artist's watercolor brushes, water container and at the same time allows the artist to adjust the angle of the work surface while executing a wash through manipulating the attached tripod. There is also a need for an easel that offers no obstruction, such as a drawer, palette or other appendage, between the artist's hand and the work surface, so that he or she can freely brush on the paint.
The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages. Further objects of the invention will become apparent from consideration of the drawing and ensuing description. Accordingly, besides the objects and advantages of the portable watercolor easel described in our patent, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:                (a) to provide an easel that is lightweight and portable for painting outside at any location;        (b) to provide an easel that has an angled ledge that holds the work;        (c) to provide an easel that can easily be mounted to a lightweight photographic tripod;        (d) to provide an easel that when attached to a photographic tripod, can easily be tilted in order to move the work surface forward, backward, left or right;        (e) to provide an easel that has retractable brush holders for easy brush access and storage of the easel;        (f) to provide an easel where the brush holders are mounted on the left and right side for use by left or right-handed people;        (g) to provide an easel that is equipped with an attached L-shaped retractable sliding hook for suspending a water container and for easy storage of the easel; and        (h) to provide an easel where the water container can easily be attached, making water convenient to the painter, the container is located in a position that balances the easel, and is designed with a hook to minimize water container movement.        